Published on : 07/08/2026
It was the Tour de France’s first mass sprint, and the Cofidis team performed admirably. The lead-out train was well organized, the team’s coordination was seamless, and Milan Fretin was put in the best possible position. Well-positioned right to the finish, the Belgian sprinter took 8th place. He’ll have another chance to shine in two days.
The Tour de France has returned to a pattern we thought was a thing of the past, given how grueling the early stages have been. This afternoon, between Lannemezan and Pau, the stage boiled down to a long, hot procession—a chance to catch one’s breath after four days of extremely high intensity. Naturally, that didn’t last long, and the sprinters’ teams decided to step on the gas in the final 40 kilometers.
With 40 km to go, the pace began to pick up. The Cofidis riders quietly moved up to the front before setting the tempo. They were seen at the front for a long time in the final meters to put Milan Fretin in the best possible position. The lead-out train formed, and the team demonstrated a remarkable sense of teamwork and positioning—the result of weeks of preparation and cohesion. The young sprinter was able to join the fray, even if he perhaps revealed himself a little too early. He ultimately finished in 8th place, just a few centimeters behind the top sprinters.
Beyond the result, this day shows that the Cofidis team has everything it takes to compete in the sprint stages. The team can be ambitious—and it is. That works out well, as there should be two sprints over the next three days: in Bordeaux this Friday and then in Bergerac this Saturday.
The reaction
Milan Fretin : "“The team did an incredible job. We started early, but we managed to hold on until the very end. I was maybe a little too far out front in the last kilometer, and I got boxed in a bit after that. But this was still the first sprint of the Tour de France. I was in the mix and felt good—that’s really what matters. We’ll need to take the time to analyze everything with a clear head, but this should give us confidence for what’s ahead. I really liked what the team showed; everyone believed in me and gave it their all—it’s a really good sign for the rest of the race.”